after reading this post I thought I must give some of my experiences with the clutch. When my 5th gear went while in Ethiopia I returned to Vim Hollands place where he has a pit. Getting a new 5th gear in Ethiopia was extremely expensive so I decided to remove the box, wash out the bits of broken spline and drive back to Durban with just 4 gears. I read in the manual that it was important to make sure the bell housing was sealed including the clutch lever rubber where the fork goes into the bell housing. I could not find the little bung at the bottom of the bell housing but decided that it would all be sorted out once back in Durban.

I decided to go back via the Unity bridge in between Tanzania and Moz. It had rained a day or 2 before and I drove about 30 odd k's in deep muddy ruts made by the big trucks . After stopping at a roadblock, the clutch slipped so badly I had to take the box out again on the side of the road. When I say I, I mean 5 very willing and helpful Tanzanians. They showed me how the mud builds up behind the fingers of the clutch and stops them from putting pressure on the clutch plate. They told me it was a regular occurrence in those parts.

So now I make sure that all those bits around the bell housing are in good condition.